An EU investment plan for Africa and the countries of the neighbourhood worth €44 billion has been launched, the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, announced in his state of the Union speech on Wednesday 14 September.
"We are launching an investment programme for Africa and the countries of the neighbourhood which we expect to mobilise €44 billion of investments. This amount may rise to €88 billion if the member states contribute to it", Juncker said, on the back of the experience of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). This new instrument, which will use public funds as a guarantee to attract public and private investment, "will come in addition to development aid in countries in which economic growth is at its lowest levels since 2003", Juncker stressed.
This fund will support economic and social infrastructure and SMEs. It will be based on three pillars: - the mobilisation of investments by combining existing investment facilities with a new guarantee, within the new European Fund for Sustainable Development, which will include a regional platform for Africa, and another for the countries of the neighbourhood; - an increase in technical assistance for public authorities and businesses in the partner countries to prepare projects and attract investment; - an improved business environment.
As it aims to unblock investments in the partner countries, this new fund will help to implement Agenda 2030 on the universal sustainable development goals and the Addis Ababa programme for the funding of development whilst tackling the root causes of migration, the European Commission stresses in a press release. The European ministers with responsibility for development held a debate, in Brussels on 12 September, with the high representative of the EU for foreign affairs and security policy, Federica Mogherini. The creation of this External Investment Plan was announced on 8 June by the vice-president of the Commission, Frans Timmermans, when presenting the European Parliament with his strategy to support the African countries in exchange for their collaboration in keeping refugees in their countries (see EUROPE 11567). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)